Help Ukrainian student attend a graduate school

Misha Poklad is a young aspiring visual artist and illustrator from Kyiv, Ukraine, who needs our financial support to help pay a portion of his living expenses as he plans to attend graduate school at one of our nation's most prestigious art programs.

I met Misha when he came to the United States as an undergraduate student at Middlebury College after receiving his International Baccalaureate high school diploma from Li Po Chun, the United World College in Hong Kong. Pursuing Studio Art and Film at Middlebury, Misha soon gained a reputation as a true original, creating elaborate eclectic works which were often featured in college publications and which embellished the walls of campus buildings. After graduating from Middlebury with the highest honors, Misha was accepted to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for a two-year Master’s Degree in Fine Arts in Visual Communication.

His celebration, however, was short-lived: the same day Misha received his acceptance letter from Chicago, Russia attacked his home country of Ukraine, leaving him isolated from his family thousands of miles away. In early March, his mother managed to escape their besieged Kyiv, fleeing to Slovakia, where she is currently rebuilding her life anew from the shambles. The rest of Misha’s immediate family is stranded in Russian-occupied Mariupol, suffering not only the violence but also from shortages of drinkable water, electricity, gas, and other necessities.

Deprived of emotional and material support from his family, Misha still managed to complete his undergraduate studies with the highest honors, graduating as a class valedictorian. His academics and active role in the college community also earned him the Phi Beta Kappa Prize and the George H. Catlin Prize. Despite the turmoil of the war, Misha nevertheless remained an active member of his college community, using his art to further campus fundraising initiatives in support of the people of Ukraine. But now, Misha needs some material support himself.

Misha has been awarded the New Artist Society Scholarship by the Art Institute of Chicago, covering 100% of his graduate tuition fees and expenses. But despite this generous scholarship, he must still pay for his own health insurance, computer technology, and transportation fees, as well as his housing, food, and living expenses. Even though Misha will work on campus (as much as is allowed by his visa), and has already been granted a Teaching Assistant position, his earnings will only cover a portion of his total expenses.

Here is the breakdown of the remaining expenses Misha must cover himself:

Health Insurance $2540/yr

Public Transportation Pass $310/yr

Technology Fee $670/yr

Housing $6500/yr

Food $3200/yr

Utilities $1350/yr

TOTAL EXPENSES: $14,570

These total expenses are offset by Misha’s actual or expected resources:

Middlebury Valedictorian Award: $4000

Earnings from campus job: $3500/yr

Savings: $2000

TOTAL RESOURCES: $9,500

Therefore, the difference, $5,070 is our fundraising goal.

I believe Misha's raw talent, perseverance against all odds, and demonstrated hard work to get a spot in such a rigorous and renowned MFA program, should be recognized and rewarded. Please, donate if you can to support this young Ukrainian talent with an immense passion for art and the creativity to bridge cultural traditions and styles in the name of global peace.